Books! Reading about Spies in the Court of Queen Elizabeth I (episode 24)

While we all know that Elizabeth ended her reign peacefully, dying in her bed, that outcome was not guaranteed. From the beginning of her reign, Catholics in England and abroad questioned her right to rule. 

When Mary Queen of Scots came to England in 1568, 10 years into Elizabeth's reign, there was a Catholic option right there! English Catholics, supported by France, Spain, and the Pope, rebelled against Elizabeth and attempted to replace her with Mary Stuart.

This period was a time of a communication explosion in England and Europe. When there are more means of communication, there's an immediate attempt to monitor and control communication. And that, of course, leads to an increase in attempts to hide communication.

The battle between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots was a battle of messages and a battle of ways to hide messages. It's an exciting time, rich with amazing characters and fascinating stories. Here are three of my favorite books about that time:

God’s Traitors: Terror & Faith in Elizabethan England by Jessie Childs. I  found this book incredibly enlightening as a way to get a glimpse into the lives of English Catholics. . I hadn’t really thought about his work in that way, and now I can’t think of any of Walsingham’s actions without remembering his early experience in Paris. I found that such illuminating way of considering his single-minded approach to the rest of the century.

Her Majesty’s Spymaster:  Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen Budiansky. One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that it starts with the St. Bartholomew Day’s massacre and looks at Walsingham’s work as Elizabeth’s Spymaster through the lens of that experience.

Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots (also published as The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I and Her Greatest Rival) by Kate Williams. There are many great books about Elizabeth I and about Mary Queen of Scots. There are several very good books about the two of them. I really liked Kate Williams’s book because it offers a fresh perspective that makes it easy to relate to these two queens as women and humans as well as queens.

History shows us what's possible.
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